Santo Domingo.- The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and ForwardKeys and Mabrian Technologies members released new insights into the substantial expansion of the U.S. Travel and tourism sector.
According to WTTC’s Travel & Tourism 2023 Global Trends in Economic Impact Report, the contribution to GDP from the U.S. Travel & Tourism sector grew by 16.9% in 2022 to reach US$2 trillion. In addition, the industry also created 2.7 million more jobs compared to 2021.
ForwardKeys data reveals a 13% increase in forward-looking outbound travel from the U.S., with top growth destinations such as Greece, Dominican Republic, Italy, Jamaica, and Mexico seeing increases ranging from 30% to 63%.
In addition, families are leading the travel recovery, with family-sized groups witnessing 21% growth over 2019.
The top international destinations for U.S. visitors are Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which account for 52% of all outbound departures in the United States in 2022.
In addition, in 2023, the sector’s contribution to GDP is forecast to reach US$2.2 trillion and the number of jobs to total 17.4 million.
The impressive growth was driven by a strong resurgence in demand from international visitors, whose spending increased by more than 150% yearly to reach US$ 115.7 billion in 2022.
The report also shows that domestic visitor spending has nearly recovered to its pre-pandemic levels, reaching US$ 1.18 trillion in 2022, close to the US$ 1.2 trillion spent by domestic visitors in 2019.
Measured by economic contribution and spending by international and domestic visitors, the United States led with the world’s most extensive travel and tourism sector in 2019 and 2022.
U.S. airports witness a surge in passenger numbers. The resurgence in travel is also reflected in U.S. airport statistics.
Statistics from Mabrian Technologies reveal that the United States continues to host some of the busiest airports in the world. Denver International witnessed the most significant inbound passenger growth of any U.S. airport, with nearly 2.2 million more passengers between 2019 and 2023.
Orlando International also experienced an increase in inbound traffic, accommodating 1.8 million more travelers in 2022 compared to 2019. The newly renamed Harry Reid International Airport in Nevada ranks third, with 1.7 million more travelers passing through its gates in 2023 compared to 2019.
Overall, the figures underscore that U.S. airports welcomed a combined total of 9.6 million more passengers last year compared to the period just before the pandemic hit.
Julia Simpson, president and CEO of WTTC, noted that “the U.S. performance is more than just numbers; it shows resilience and enduring demand for travel and tourism. In 2019, one in ten jobs has becomebally was in the Travel & Tourism sector and is expected to contribute $9.5 trillion to the global economy this year alone.”